NAIROBI, Kenya, October 23- Olympic steeplechase champion, Ezekiel Kemboi is finally off the hook after Anne Njeri withdrew assault charges she had levelled against the London 2012 hero on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters after her request to withdraw the charges was accepted by an Eldoret court, Njeri said she had decided to draw a line under the matter without any undue influence.
“I decided to do this on my own will since the case was taking much of my time and I wish to continue with my undergraduate studies,” she asserted outside the court.
“That issue is now over and we can look forward to other things,” was the brief comment Kemboi who ran 8:18.56 in London to make history as the first ever two-time Olympics water and barriers champion in history told Capital Sport when contacted.
“The girl said she had made a personal decision to drop the charges,” said Kemboi’s lawyer Michael Chemwok told AFP.
“She had experienced a lot of suffering to herself and her family, who had felt ostracised from the community after bringing up the case against their track hero.”
Kemboi, who is also a police officer, might now seek legal action against the woman as he had suffered legal and financial repercussions arising from the case, Chemwok said, repeating allegations she had been part of a kidnap ring.
“We knew that the lady had no case to prove, because she was part of a wider conspiracy to kidnap Kemboi before the Olympics and demand a ransom for his release,” Chemwok claimed.
The two-time World champion first appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Francis Kiambia on June 28 where he faced assault charges which were allegedly committed in West Indies, a suburb in the outskirts of Eldoret town.
Njeri, who runs a restaurant in the town told police that they had been drinking at a pub with the Athens and London men 3000m steeplechase winner, before he offered to drop her at her parents’ home in West Indies, in the outskirts of the town.
But before alighting, the woman claimed they differed prompting a confrontation during which the athlete allegedly stabbed her on the left side of the chest leading to her admission to the Med Hill Hospital in Eldoret.
The hearing of the case was first deferred to September 31 with the athlete released on cash bail as he joined his teammates in the London 2012 training camp in Nairobi.
Amid allegations of framing by fellow police officers, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko called for Kemboi’s file on July 4 to issue further direction.
“I’m a police officer and patriot and this is not the right way to rush someone to court. I was not given an opportunity to state my case after the incident and I was surprised to find myself in court so quickly,” the London-bound runner said at the time.
